大熊猫林萍泰国喜庆周岁生日
Riot-stricken Thailand had something to smile about on Thursday as the nation's only panda cub, who enjoys a cult-like following across the kingdom, celebrated her first birthday in style.
Hundreds of fans gathered at Chiang Mai zoo in northern Thailand for the birthday of Linping, whose birth surprised zookeepers after years of unsuccessful artificial insemination and efforts to get her parents to mate.
A monk's blessing, a panda birthday cake and an ice carving of her name and age were among the gifts for the 36-kilo (79-pound) cub, who has five keepers devoted to her care, before an evening celebration for guests.
Linping has become so popular in her first year that Thai television has a live 24-hour "Panda Channel" following her every move, while a competition to name her last year attracted a staggering 22 million entries.
Lin is part of her mother's name and Ping is a river in Chiang Mai.
"It is very special that people join us today," said Prasertsak Buntragulpoontawee, head of the panda research project at the zoo.
Linping was born to eight-year-old giant panda Lin Hui just three months after receiving semen from nine-year-old partner Chuang Chuang.
The mates had shown no interest in reproducing normally since they both arrived on a 10-year loan from China in 2003. Linping officially belongs to China but can stay in Thailand for another year.
In 2006, Chuang Chuang, who had been deemed too heavy to mate with Lin Hui, lost weight on a low-carbohydrate diet and was then shown 15-minute video clips of successful panda couplings, but to no avail.
Giant pandas, notorious for their low sex drive, are among the planet's most endangered animals.
近来受暴乱重创的泰国在本周四终于有了件让人高兴的事，该国唯一一只深受民众喜爱的大熊猫幼崽隆重庆祝了它的周岁生日。
当天，数百名粉丝聚集在泰国北部的清迈动物园为林萍庆生。去年林萍的降生给当地动物园带来了极大惊喜，此前动物园多年来一直努力对它的母亲进行人工受孕均未成功，并想尽各种办法促进它的父母交配。
当天林萍收到的生日礼物包括一位僧人的赐福、一个熊猫生日蛋糕和一个刻有她名字和年龄的冰雕。这只刚满周岁的熊猫崽体重达36公斤（79磅），拥有五名饲养员。当天晚间，来客们为它举行了庆祝活动。
林萍在泰国降生以来深受欢迎，泰国电视台特设24小时直播的“熊猫频道”，跟踪拍摄她的一举一动。去年的一个为它取名的公众征集活动共收到2200万个创意。
其中，“林”取自她母亲的名字，“萍”则取自清迈一条河流的名字。
清迈动物园熊猫研究项目负责人Prasertsak Buntragulpoontawee说：“今天大家与我们一起为它庆生，非常特别。”
林萍的妈妈名叫林惠，今年9岁，爸爸叫创创，今年10岁。去年，林惠在接受人工授精手术三个月后，产下了林萍。
这对大熊猫夫妇于2003年来到泰国后，性欲一直不强。这对熊猫由中国租借给泰国，期限为十年，幼崽林萍归中国所有，但它可以在泰国继续呆一年。
2006年，因体重过大而无法正常交配的创创开始食用低碳水化合物减肥。当时动物园还专门让它观看了一段15分钟的熊猫成功交配的视频片断，但没有起到作用。
大熊猫一直以“性冷淡”而著称，目前是地球濒危物种之一。
Vocabulary:
cub：the young of certain animals, as the bear, lion, or tiger（幼兽、幼崽）
in style：in the current fashion or style（隆重地，成功地，别具风格地）
artificial insemination：人工授精
reproduce：to generate (offspring) by sexual or asexual means（生育，繁殖）
to no avail：of no use or advantage, ineffective（完全无用）
